


Between The Stars

by LinaBenliven



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe – Fantasy, Alternate Universe – Magic, Fire Mage Keith (Voltron), Fire Magic, Gay Keith (Voltron), How Shiro (Voltron) Lost His Arm, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith carrying Shiro, Kidnapped Shiro (Voltron), Knight Keith (Voltron), Lack of Communication, M/M, Magic Alternate Universe – Royalty, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Permanent Injury, Pining Idiots, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Shiro (Voltron), Platonic Matt/Keith, Prince Shiro (Voltron), Protective Keith (Voltron), Shiro and Keith are Bad at Communication, accidental injury, burn injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-14 20:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14776410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinaBenliven/pseuds/LinaBenliven
Summary: Keith has dealt with many threats throughout his years as a Shiranyth Knight. He's dealt with wars, invaders and many other potential threats without losing sleep over them, and yet the one that keeps him up the most is his feelings towards the Shiranyth Prince. The feelings that he knows he should keep buried down deep inside himself for the sake of the kingdom. Yet, when Prince Shirogane is kidnapped by the Galran Empire, it takes very little convincing for Keith to go rescue him.





	1. Magnetic

Keith knew just from the look of the tower that it belonged to Emperor Lotor. The fact that the emblem of the Galran Empire was emblazoned onto the stonework of the tower made sure that it would be hard to assume that anyone else owned the tower. Never mind the fact that the fact his crystal was glowing was a sure sign that Prince Shirogane was nearby. The spell he had cast had thankfully taken and as he slipped off his horse he felt a sigh leave him.

He should be relieved that he found his Prince. He should be thankful that the red garnet crystal and the Goddess had led him here. But he’s not. He was worried. He knew the spell only took if the person he was trying to track was alive, which is why it had never been able to locate his father. But that’s not why he was worried. His spell had located the Prince after all. He wasn’t worried about the Prince being dead because the spell wouldn’t have taken otherwise. He probably should worry about Emperor Lotor killing the Prince and himself considering the knight had been foolish enough to come by himself. But that wasn’t even his main worry.

No, his main worry was what if Prince Shirogane didn’t want to return to the Shiranyth Kingdom. What if Prince Shirogane no longer wanted to be crowned King? What if Prince Shirogane was happy with Emperor Lotor?

_What if Prince Shirogane no longer needed him?_

The raven-haired male sighed deeply as he tied his horse’s reins loosely around a post that was out of sight of the tower. He would need to get away quickly and he was thankful that the black gelding he had was patient enough to let him tie the reins without him moving too much.

“I’ll be back before you know it Ares, promise.” Keith says in a soft tone as he gives his horse one final stroke down his neck before turning back to face the tower. He would rescue the Prince. He would return him to the Shiranyth Kingdom. It was his duty as a Shiranyth Knight to do so.

_He could do this._

Taking a final deep breath Keith started to walk towards the tower, keeping to the shadows of the trees so that he could at least keep the element of surprise until the last possible second. Kolivan had at least tried to teach him stealth. That hadn’t meant that Keith had always listened to the elder man about its importance on other missions. But this involved the Prince and therefore – Keith was going to listen to Kolivan’s advice.

Once he’s crouched in one of the bushes looking at the tower entrance, Keith feels his heart begin to pound faster. There were no guards at the door. He knew that Emperor Lotor, despite having the entire Galran army at his disposal, stuck to using the same four Generals as his inner circle of guards. The rumors were that due to Lotor’s sudden ascension to the throne he still didn’t trust most of his father’s confidants and commanders, and as such he had stuck with his own Generals. It was a move that had shocked the other Shiranyth knights and had made them all that little bit more wary of the Galran Empire’s new leader.

He knew the Emperor’s mage, Axca, wouldn’t be at the tower. She was always by Emperor Lotor’s side. There was speculation from other kingdoms that the two were more than just General and Emperor, but Keith had tried not to dwell on that fact. He didn’t want to get his hopes up that one day he could have a similar situation with Prince Shirogane.

_The Shiranyth Prince deserved better than him._

However, even with the certainty that Axca would be with the Emperor, that still left three of the Generals to guard Prince Shirogane. All this was assuming that their Emperor was away from the tower as the intel the knight had gathered suggested. If he wasn’t that meant five people for him to sneak past and Keith knew that wouldn’t be easy. It had nothing to do with the fact that the knight despised stealth missions and had more to do with the training and experience of the Galran Generals that made it difficult.

Zethrid was as Kolivan had described an unstoppable force. She was strong, fierce and deadly with a sword. She had trained in the Fennexian Kingdom where their warriors were known for their devastating blows and sheer aggression. Fennexian warriors enjoyed fighting and claimed it was part of their blood. As such, Zethrid was the one that Keith really wanted to avoid. She was almost twice his size and from all accounts just as fast as the small knight himself.

Ezor was by all standards a standard Tamaranian assassin, except she toyed with her prey. The Tamarani Kingdom was known for being suppilers of assassins to other kingdoms, as well as the one kingdom that most kingdoms didn’t trust when they offered treaties and gifts. Accepting one meant that your kingdom owed them a favour and the Tamarani always collected. Kolivan had warned him that Ezor was faster than him, but that his main challenge would be coping with how she would toy with him. She managed to get under her opponent’s skin and it seemed to be a thrill to her.

The last General was the one that Keith was the most concerned about. Narti was from the Avossian Kingdom and apparently, the deadliest. Kolivan had told him that while very little documentation about Avossian Kingdom was available the location of their Kingdom meant that very few people ever journeyed there. It was largely ignored due to the fact it was underground near a great source of pure quintessence.  Too pure for most travellers to be near. As such the Avossians were strong fighters and were very adept at using magic where they could tell that their strength wouldn’t work. Kolivan had warned him that while blind she was still the deadliest and unlike Zethrid and Ezor who would keep him alive to let Lotor decide what to do – Narti would not. Narti would kill him without hesitation. Without being told to. She was ruthless and not to be underestimated.

And knowing all that meant when he saw no-one guarding the entrance to the tower he was sceptical. He knew just how valuable both the Shiranyth Kingdom and its Prince were to the Galran Empire, so he doubted that it was going to be simple as just walking in to rescue the Prince. It couldn’t be that simple. Everything about the Emperor had dictated that there were only two reasons why that tower would be unguarded and it makes Keith nearly throw up at it. Either Prince Shirogane had agreed to a deal with the Galran Empire or…

_Or Prince Shirogane had been killed._

The knight tenses at those words and bites his lip hard enough to draw blood. He was doing exactly what Kolivan had warned him against. He was getting attached. His mission was to go in and rescue the Prince, not let his feelings overtake his brain. He could not afford to let his heart dictate his actions on this mission. The Kingdom couldn’t afford it to happen, and neither could Prince Shirogane.

Running his gloved hand through his hair he took a deep breath to refocus himself. Taking the red garnet crystal back out of his pocket he gave it a firm squeeze to rejuvenate his magic before slipping it back into the pouch on his belt. He put his hood back up and drew his small dagger out of its sheath, he needed to be prepared. Moving quickly, he kept himself low as he moved away from the main entrance, trying to see if there was any movement within the tower. There was no sound coming from the tower, no clues that there was any life at all in the tower.

The pit of worry in Keith’s stomach began to build yet again and he willed it to stop as he moved towards the tower and ducked under the window’s ledge. His small stature helping to keep himself hidden if anyone was inside. He pulled out a shard of a mirror and angled it to allow him to look inside the tower without giving away his position. Only to frown when he saw two people talking in front of a door. A door that no doubt had Prince Shirogane behind it.

From Kolivan’s descriptions he could tell that neither of them were Zethrid or Narti because the two women were a lot smaller in stature. So, he felt confident in saying that it was Axca and Ezor talking which worried him, however, knowing that Zethrid or Narti weren’t there relieved him slightly. Except it meant that Emperor Lotor was here and Keith really hadn’t planned for that, but the small knight was nothing but adaptable.

He stowed the mirror back into his pocket and when he heard the creak of the door open he relaxed. So, they were going to where Prince Shirogane was? Maybe that was where Lotor was. He moved and sheathed his dagger so that he could climb through the window once he heard the heavy door shut.

The tower was nice than Keith had initially thought. It was decorated in vibrant royal purples as opposed to the Galran Empire’s usual colour of deep scarlet red. Zarkon’s colours. Which meant that Lotor had been busy redecorating already. Probably trying to make Prince Shirogane feel more at home by using the Shiranyth Kingdom’s colours. Keith mumbled in quiet annoyance at that fact as he moved quickly and quietly to the heavy door the two women had disappeared behind. He pressed his ear to the door and relaxed when he heard one of them address the Prince.

_Prince Shirogane was alive._

He knew that much, even if he was struggling to hear the conversation that was taking place on the other side of the door. Frowning, Keith lifted his hand and whispered an incantation to burn a hole into the wood so that he could hear them better. It was a small hole, probably only the size of his fingernail but it was enough for their voices to no longer be a distant mumble.

“What don’t you understand Prince Shirogane? You either surrender your Kingdom or you’ll be executed.” The small knight tenses hearing one of the females talk and his hand reaches for the hilt of his blade, even though he didn’t plan on charging in just yet. Except, someone else seems to have different plans for him.

Keith tenses as he feels someone pick him up by the back of his hood and he kicks out immediately. He hated being picked up and the fact he couldn’t see his attacker did not help. He goes to call out an incantation when he realises that his kicks and punches weren’t landing only to scream against the hand that clamps over his mouth to stop him.

“Oh, I don’t think so. You wanted to eavesdrop, now let me help you be a part of the conversation.” His attacker almost purrs in his ear and Keith squirms again. He had not meant to get caught and yet here he was suspended a good foot off the ground by his hood. He catches sight of a cloaked figure opening the door he had been leant against and then he’s flying. The feeling of flying however, lasts for all of two seconds as Keith feels his body impact with the cold stone floor of the tower before skidding into the wall from the sheer force of being thrown.

“Keith!” Prince Shirogane’s voice sounds strained as he calls for his knight and it makes the smaller male shake his head. He had to get up. He had to prove that he was okay. The Prince needed him to be okay. Keith forces himself to at least get to his knees, his hood slipping back down and his body aching from the impact. He scans the room immediately and frowns seeing all four of Emperor Lotor’s generals between him and the door.

He turns his head to the left and his face softens a little at the sight of the Prince. He had been well taken care of during his absence, except for the bruises around his wrists. They had to be because of the chains and Keith makes a mental note that he will have to break them in order to get them out of here.

“Oh my, what a touching reunion.” His head snaps round at Lotor’s voice and seeing the smug look on his face is enough to force the knight to stand and move himself halfway in between Lotor and Prince Shirogane. “It’s been a while hasn’t it Keith? Oh, or are you Sir Keith now?”

“You say it like it’s a dishonour to rise through the ranks honourably, rather than killing your own father in order to advance yourself to the throne.” Keith says without hesitation, the words sounding bitter on his tongue. He notices the look on the Prince’s face and he knows that he’ll have to explain that to him, if they ever got out of this situation that is.

“Ah, like a deserter of the Galran Empire can talk.” Lotor steps forward as he talks and Keith instinctively moves to put himself in between him and Prince Shirogane. He can see Lotor’s sword and he knows the Emperor would not hesitate to put it through him. He can only hope that he was quick enough to stop him should it come to that.

“Deserter… Keith what is he talking about?” The hurt tone in the Prince’s voice is apparent and the raven-haired boy knows it’s because he neglected to tell him something this crucial vital. And if only Prince Shirogane had managed to keep the hurt concealed then Keith wouldn’t be having to stare at Lotor’s smug face. He wouldn’t be having to see the Generals giving each other knowing looks.

“Oh? He doesn’t know?” He hears one of the more slender women say from where she’s leant against the wall. Her multi-coloured hair in the traditional Tamaranian ponytail made him almost certain that she was Ezor, which meant that the slender blue-haired woman next to her was Axca.

“Your lovely Knight here deserted his post within the Galran Empire before he joined your Kingdom.” The bigger woman says it without holding back how she felt about Keith’s decision to leave the Empire behind. His eyes narrow slightly as he takes in her appearance and stature before deducing that she was more than likely Zethrid. A Fennexian would never dream of abandoning their Empire or Kingdom regardless of the circumstances. Which meant that the cloaked figure was Narti.

“I did yes, but not because I had a choice. Your father drove out mages within the Empire after Empress Honerva passed.” Keith starts as he reaches for his blade’s handle. He did not like the fact that they had started to bring up his heritage. It was bad enough he still had the markings of the Empire on his skin, he did not need to be branded as a traitor as well. “Do not twist it into something bigger than it is.”

“Twist it? You _abandoned_ your Empire.” Keith’s eyes fall on Axca as she speaks and his grip on his blade tightens. She sounded bitter, as though he had personally insulted her by leaving the Empire. The Empire that he had left because of how they had begun to treat mages following the Empress’ death. “We aren’t twisting it, you are.”

“Besides, Mages are clearly welcome under Lotor’s rule, otherwise Axca would have been left to rot.” The raven-haired male’s eyes don’t flicker to Ezor as she talks this time, he doesn’t want to acknowledge the fact that she’s right.

“Ezor dear, quiet.” Lotor almost snaps it and Keith takes a step back, instinctively bracing himself for a hit that never comes. “Prince Shirogane, I will give you a final offer for your freedom.”

“I’m listening.” Prince Shirogane stands as he talks and Keith looks back at him, his eyes wide with fear. The Shiranyth Prince was really going to negotiate with the Emperor of the Galran Empire despite his knight being there? Did he not trust him anymore? “But only if your Generals wait outside.”

“You can’t possibly expect Lotor to agree to that when your knight will remain by your side.” Zethrid growls as she steps forward only to be stopped by Lotor’s hand across her chest.

“If I don’t attack Keith or yourself, I assume your knight will have no reason to attack me.” Keith didn’t know about that. There were several reasons that he could think of to attack the Emperor for, just off the top of his head. The Prince had given him no reason to doubt him previously so, he would bite his tongue for now.

“He will not harm you as long as you do not harm either of us.” The smaller male is wary of that. He knows Prince Shirogane more than likely has a plan for what he is negotiating for but he did not like being in the dark about it. Hell, it felt wrong negotiating when the Prince was still in chains. It meant that if it went south extremely quickly Keith couldn’t get the other male out of there quick enough. A thought he most certainly did not want to entertain.

“Ladies, outside.” Keith watches all four of the Generals go to argue with Lotor that this is a bad decision. That he shouldn’t take the word of the Shiranyth Prince without caution, but the Emperor seems to pay them no mind. And when the Generals realise that Lotor isn’t about to budge on his stance they reluctantly file out of the room. The second that the door closes behind Axca, the Emperor turns back to the pair. “I’ve met your demands.”

“I didn’t demand anything, but I will listen to your proposal.” Even though Keith didn’t agree with the Prince’s plan to negotiate, he couldn’t help but smirk a bit at his tone of voice. He sounded like he would have his arms crossed if the chains didn’t prohibit such movement.

 “Give us back Keith, and we’ll let you continue to rule your Kingdom in peace.” The minute those words leave Lotor’s mouth, his eyes are on the raven-haired male, as if to see just how much of a mark they’ve left. And Keith doesn’t hide the shock that crosses his face at the Emperor’s terms. How could he? After all there was no way that the Prince would choose one knight over his entire Kingdom. It just didn’t make sense to do such a thing, and Lotor knew that. That had to be why he had suggested it. Refusing the deal meant that the Galran Empire would be free to invade the Shiranyth Kingdom, a fate both Keith and Prince Shirogane wanted to avoid.

“Give you one of my best Knights that only decided to leave because your father threatened to kill him?” Prince Shirogane doesn’t sound convinced. Whether that’s because he didn’t trust Emperor Lotor or because he didn’t think it would be that easy to leave, Keith doesn’t know. He just hopes it’s the first option.

“Yes.” Lotor sounds so absolute and from what Kolivan had told the young knight, there was no bargaining with Lotor once the Galran ruler had made up his mind. That knowledge alone is enough to set Keith on edge as he turns to look at the Shiranyth Prince, praying that he wouldn’t give him over to an Empire that wanted to kill him.

_“No.”_

“Very well, you leave me with no choice then.” Keith knows what’s about to happen before it happens. He notices the way that Lotor reaches for his sword and moves to stop him. However, Keith fails to grab his own blade in time and he feels the sharp edge of the Emperor’s sword collide with his right shoulder. The pain is immeasurable and yet, it awakens something inside the young man as he drops to his knees, his left hand clutching his shoulder. He looks up at the Galran Emperor and the next thing he remembers is the intense heat of the fire engulfing his body, a prince’s scream and the Emperor’s hasty retreat.


	2. One Foot In Front Of The Other

It felt like Keith had been hit by a stampede of horses under the desert sun. His surroundings were still warm and his shoulder ached with the familiar pain of a sword injury. He pulled himself to his feet and looked round, his heart sinking when he saw the scorch marks on the walls and floor of the tower.

_No. Not the Prince._

“Prince Shirogane?” He called as he turned around only to see Prince Shirogane laid cradling his arm to his chest. The knight can feel his heart pounding heavily at the sight, he had hurt the Prince. He had hurt him with his magic, just like he knew he would do eventually. He had warned Kolivan that it would happen sooner or later. Sighing, he bent down and scooped the Shiranyth Prince into his arms. He watched as the chains easily came free from the wall, only to press the Prince to his chest, ignoring the own pain in his shoulder. He could take care of that once they were away from the tower. “I’m sorry.” The raven-haired male says softly as he looks for Emperor Lotor, who from the looks of it; had hastily made his retreat.

Keith was thankful that the ruler of the Galran Empire and his Generals had retreated. It was going to be hard enough carrying Prince Shirogane to the clearing to patch them both up, to the point that the knight was certain he was going to have to carry him the entire way there, without have to deal with the threat of enemies as well. Not that Keith minded carrying the Prince to the clearing. No, after all he had been the one to injure the Prince so he had to be the one to carry him. It was his job to do so, especially as the injury seemed to have knocked the Prince unconscious.

As he approached Ares he noticed the gelding gave him a small whinny, accompanied by several panicky steps. He had forgotten how much his horse cared for him, although the knight suspected that was due to the bond they had shared since he arrived at the Shiranyth Kingdom all those years ago. So, to see his horse agitated because he was injured, while not a rare sight, was a comforting one.

“Hey, calm down Ares. Just me and the Prince.” He says in a low voice, trying to soothe the gelding as quickly as possible. The quicker he was calm, the quicker they could work on getting far away from the tower. The stocky horse nuzzles at the Prince’s hair and Keith smiles a little at the sight before shifting the man in his arms so he could untie Ares, trusting the gelding to walk alongside him unaided. Ares nuzzles his rider before moving so that Keith could continue on his way as the sun began to set.

***

The sun had set when Prince Shirogane awoke. There was the dull roar of a campfire nearby, and his wrists were still heavy from the chains around his wrists. Something had been put over him while he slept and when he looked down he wasn’t surprised to see the familiar red cape draped over him. He knew that his knight had rescued him, he just wasn’t sure where his knight was now. He knew that he was in a tent alone but that was all he could tell from his limited view.

“Keith?” The Prince calls out as he attempts to prop himself up on his elbows, only to be met with excruciating pain in his arm, and for his knight to come in the tent and lay him back down. He smiles a little seeing the familiar stern look Keith reserved for when anyone did something dumb and even then, it was usually only reserved for Lance and Matt. So, for it to be directed at him was unusual, but comforting.

“My Prince, you’re awake, do not try to move.” Keith says softly as he tucks the Prince back underneath his cloak. The action seems different to Takashi, as though Keith is trying to make up for something that he did. Although Takashi isn’t sure what that was, or even what it could be.

“I’ve told you, you can call me Takashi, there is no need to be so formal with me.” He extends his left arm as he talks and gently touches his knight’s hand to reassure him. “Especially after the way you rescued me.” He adds as an after-thought and he sees Keith’s eyes darken a little. Clearly his knights issue came from the rescue.

_Why couldn’t he remember them leaving the tower?_

“I know, I simply find it better to call you that in the presence of company my highness.” The smaller male gives Prince Shirogane the same response he always gave when he was told to call him by his first name. He knew it was a lie. It was a straight up lie that Keith kept telling himself so he didn’t get carried away with his feelings. It was easier to keep lying to himself instead, to lie and say that the Prince wasn’t okay with him dropping the formalities. It was better for the Shiranyth Kingdom if he kept lying to himself too.

“Keith. I don’t mind, besides we’re not with company now.” The Prince’s response however, throws a dagger into Keith’s mental process. How could he keep lying to himself when Takashi was looking at him with those soft grey eyes? He couldn’t, was the answer.

“Of course, Takashi.” The knight says softly as he sits on the bedroll next to him, as he reached for his bag with all his first aid equipment. He needed to look over Takashi’s arm and try to heal it the best he could until they got back to the Shiranyth Kingdom.

“See, it wasn’t so hard, was it?” The Prince’s voice is soft and light and it makes Keith smile a little. He liked it when the Prince could joke with him like this. It made him feel at ease. “Now, what happened when you rescued me? I didn’t realise you had control over flames Keith.” And just like that, Keith had tensed back up. He didn’t know how to explain to the Prince that he had kept his magic a secret for so long. Or that his magic had been what had hurt the Prince. He didn’t know how to explain it and frankly, he didn’t want to.

“It’s a difficult topic for me, Takashi.” He says after a few minutes when his muscles have unclenched once again. “That’s the only reason that I never told you about the flames.” The raven adds as he opens one of the pots to look over the salve inside it. It was a dark blue in colour and he remembered making it himself on his journey to the Shiranyth Kingdom. It had saved his hands from being burnt to a crisp every time he had tried to control the flames.

“I’m not asking you to explain everything about the flames Keith, just about what happened when you rescued me.” Takashi says before his eyes land on the pot in his knight’s hand. It looked ornate, a lot more ornate than anything that he had seen in Keith’s possession before. “What’s that?” He asks when their eyes meet in the silence.

“It’s a cooling and healing salve. You… you’ll need it on your arm… May I?” He keeps his voice low and calming as he extends his hand out for the Prince’s right arm. He could see the deep burns already marking the tanned skin and his heart sinks a little, knowing that it could already be too late to repair the damage he had done.

“Why? What happened to my arm?”

“When I was rescuing you, Emperor Lotor went to attack you and when I got hurt the flames took over. I think you tried to stop me and you got burnt. I’m sorry my Prince, I really am.” He bites his lip as he talks. He didn’t have enough time to dwell on what he had done, not when every moment that passed was making the damage to the Shiranyth Prince’s arm irreversible.  “Let me heal you please.” He asks again, although ask is too polite of a word. Keith knows that he’s pleading with the Prince. Pleading to let him fix his mistake the best he could, just like any native citizen of his Kingdom.

“Of course.” He responds before moving his arm slowly towards his knight. The instant their hands meet, Keith breaks eye contact and looks down at the damage he had caused.  The burn marks ran from the palm of Takashi’s hand to his elbow, and were a dark red in colour. They were deep. Keith had only received a handful of burns like this and none of them had ever been this large.

But the knight bit his tongue. He had caused this damage, he would be the one to fix it. He reached down with his left hand to scoop some of the salve onto his fingers before he started to massage it into the burnt flesh of the Prince’s elbow.

“That… that feels cool.” Keith barely heard the whisper, he was far too focused on making sure he covered every inch of the injury in the salve. He needed to make sure it was covered for Takashi to have the best chance of being healed. “Is it meant to feel cool Keith?” The Prince asks when he realises that his knight hadn’t heard him.

“It is a cooling salve Takashi.” The elder man laughs at the simple response and Keith feels himself smile. He was glad that he was relaxed enough to laugh again. He looked over his arm once again before closing his pot and grabbing a roll of bandages from his kit. “Can you move your fingers?” He asked quietly as he watched his fingers for any signs of life.

“I think I’m moving them.”

“You’re not…”

“What does that mean then?” Keith’s not surprised that Takashi sounds nervous. He would too if he was told that despite his best efforts, his fingers weren’t moving. And he knew the dangers that came with using flame magic. The Prince did not.

“That the damage is more than skin deep. A Shiranyth healer will need to look it over to confirm, but I think you’ve lost feeling in your fingers.” He wraps his arm up tight with the bandages and notices there’s no reaction there. No flinch from the bandages being too tight and it worries Keith. There should have been a small reaction at least. “I am sorry Prince.”

“Keith, it’s not your fault, magic is unpredictable.” His voice is soft. Warm. It’s everything that Keith wasn’t expecting. He had been expecting to be scolded for not telling someone about his capabilities, not being excused for his powers. It felt foreign to him.

“Yes, but I know the dangers of being blessed with flame magic, I could have warned you when you first took me in as your knight and again when you made me your personal guard.” The smaller male says as he helps the Prince get comfortable in his bedroll. He knew the night had fallen now and he would need the energy to get them back to Shiranyth still. Takashi could dismiss him when they got back after all.

“And you didn’t because you were scared.” Despite the contents, Takashi’s tone is not one of pity, it’s one of understanding. “Your own Kingdom had exiled or killed dozens of its mages and other Kingdoms were doing the same. I understand you wanting to hide your true identity and magic from me Keith.”

“It still doesn’t excuse me from injuring you. If I had just told you before…”

“You said the flames took over correct?” Takashi cuts him off this time. His face fairly stern and his grey eyes focused solely on Keith’s violet ones. The knight can’t bring himself to speak. He knew were the Prince was going but he couldn’t bring himself to talk, so instead he gives a silent nod. “How could I have protected myself against the flames if you weren’t in control of them?”

“You… you wouldn’t have been able to.” His voice falters slightly, but he manages to say it as he slips his boots off. He knows the Prince is right, as he often was on matters like this, but Keith can’t help but feel he could have done more had he just told Takashi initially.

“Then do me a favour and stop beating yourself up over it. I am alive and we will be returning to Shiranyth soon, and that is thanks to you.” He gently touches the knight’s hand as he talks before giving him a soft smile. “Now, I believe some sleep will do the both of us some good before we travel again.” The smaller male nods at that and slips under his cover without hesitation. It wasn’t the first time he had slept this close to the Prince, but somehow it felt different this time. It was though now that Takashi knew who he truly was a weight was lifted, and knowing that Prince was going to let him stay as a Knight made him less worried overall. It felt nice not having to be anxious that he was going to blow his secret at any given time.

“Takashi.” Keith’s voice comes out as a whisper, mainly because he isn’t sure if the Prince is still awake. At least he isn’t sure until he hears him shift.

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

 


	3. Interlude

The journey back to the castle had been arduous. Keith had had to make an improvised sling for the Prince so that he could ride Ares with him, without the risk of knocking the injury. They had also had to stop several times along the way so that Keith could reapply the salve like clockwork. They hadn’t talked much during the journey and that had been Keith’s fault. He had no idea what to say to the Prince. All he wanted to do was apologise for injuring him time and time again. Something he knew that if he did do that, Takashi would just tell him that he didn’t need to apologise. It would be a pointless discussion. So, they had returned to the Shiranyth Castle in silence and the Prince had been taken to Ulaz to be checked over.

Keith hadn’t seen him since. He hadn’t asked to see him either. Instead he had kept himself sequestered in his room to practice on controlling the flames and working on something for the Prince. His request for privacy hadn’t gone unnoticed by the other knights or by Kolivan, and Keith kept expecting one of them to drop in on him unannounced. Even if it was just to drag him down to eat with them. He kept expecting it happen. For something to happen.

_But it never did._

Keith had been back a full week before there was a knock at the heavy wooden door of his room. He swore under his breath as the flame he was controlling danced up his bare arm, adding a new burn to his forearm.

“Come in.” He didn’t mean to snap it, but seeing as they had already broken his concentration there was no reason for him to usher them away. He turned to the side of him and grabbed the ornate pot of blue salve as the door opened.

“What did you do?” Keith looks up as he hears Matt’s voice and sighs a little. He had forgotten just how nosey the auburn-haired male could be. It rivalled Hunk’s nosiness at times, and when the pair were together it was twelve times worse. “Because that burn looks nasty.” He adds as he starts to walk closer to Keith so he can kneel in front of him. “Looks like a magic burn too.”

“It’s nothing.” He mutters as he starts to apply the salve to the burn. The movement of his fingers keeping his flames from attacking Matt. He had already attacked the Prince, he didn’t want to attack another person, let alone another knight. “What do you want Matt?” He asks when the burn is half covered in the blue salve. He makes sure to maintain eye contact with the elder male as he talks, hoping that Matt will realise that he really does not want to discuss the burn.

“A magic burn isn’t nothing Keith.” Apparently, the other knight wasn’t as smart as his sister was. A fact that Keith knows is a damn right lie. Matt had made his start in the Shiranyth Kingdom by training as a healer and scientist under his father Dr Sam Holt. Only he had slowly befriended the Prince as he started to make improvements on the ranged weapons that the Kingdom’s Knights used. Despite all the training they had gone through to be knights, he knew that Matt still retained most of his healing and science knowledge so he didn’t appreciate the auburn-haired male acting dumb.

“I know they’re not nothing, I’ve seen the Prince’s condition.” Keith knows that he nearly snaps it again but he was disastrously close to letting Matt know that he had been bestowed flame magic and he didn’t want to have that conversation. If he could keep it so that only the Prince and Kolivan knew about his magic, he would be content. The other male tuts at the snap and his gaze falls on Keith’s glowing fingers.

“I’m surprised you haven’t gone to see him.” He says softly as he watches the young man clench his fist to stop the glow of his fingers. The raven-haired male is surprised that he says nothing about the warm glow of fire against his pale skin. Most other people would say something. Although it was entirely possible that for once in his life Matt was acting smart.

“I thought I should give him chance to heal before I go visit.” The younger male says once the flames have died back down. His voice is still tense but that was to be expected, after all he hadn’t even wanted to have this conversation with Matt. He had just wanted to be in control of his flame magic. Not have to talk about an injury that he caused to a close friend.

“And that has nothing to do with the fact that you caused his injury?” And just like that Keith feels his heart stop momentarily. How had Matt known that he had caused Takashi’s injury?

“How….?” Brown eyes meet wide eyed violet ones and Matt laughs a little. Laughter that quickly dies when he sees just how panicked Keith looks.

“Please Keith, you’ve always been covered in burn marks, it doesn’t take much to put two and two together.” Matt says it with a soft smile and reaches to give his hand a reassuring squeeze. He felt bad for worrying him. “Besides all of Takashi’s close knights are blessed with magic.”

“They…we are?”

“Yeah, Lance was blessed by the Water Goddess, Merla, Hunk the Air Goddess, Cysra, and my sister was blessed by the Earth Goddess, Soelia. You’re blessed by the Fire Goddess, Kesdona.” Matt says it with such a practiced tone that Keith wonders how many times he had recalled this. It had to be at least three times, that or he was used to recalling the Goddess’ names without hesitation.

“I didn’t know that the others were too…”

“Yours is by far the strongest, I don’t think the rest have unlocked their powers yet. I know Katie hasn’t.” Keith didn’t want to think of what would happen when they did. He had burnt himself so many times once his powers had awoken and nearly burnt down houses. Would Lance flood the castle or nearly drown himself? Katie would probably make plants grow out of control and Hunk could blow anyone away. The castle would be in chaos.

“And what about you?” He had to know. There was no way Matt would say that all the close knights were blessed with magic and not include himself in that. There was no way he would do that. He had been Takashi’s knight the longest after all.

“I’m blessed by the Spirit Goddess, Aella, it meant that I was naturally suited to be a healer and it helps me determine who’s been blessed by a Goddess.” The elder male explains without looking ashamed of the fact he had been blessed. Maybe spirit magic was easier to control if all it did was amplify Matt’s natural talent at being a healer. Maybe it wasn’t as destructive as flame magic.

“Why were we marked then?” He asks before he realises what he’s said. He didn’t want to get invested in why he had been marked, he just wanted to control the magic and the flames. He wanted to be free from the destructive nature of it. Not be praised for it. Not after what had happened to Takashi.

“I don’t know. The Goddesses just say you were all chosen for a reason and that one day it will become clear.” Keith must have pulled a face at the sheer unhelpfulness of that statement because Matt starts to laugh. “I didn’t say they were very helpful.” Matt says as he takes a roll of bandages from the smaller male’s first aid kit to bandage up his arm.

“Matt… do you think I should go see Takashi?” Keith asks once Matt has finished bandaging up his forearm. It was tight and the raven-haired male was thankful for the pressure, it would keep him focused. A reminder of what he had done to the Prince. A reminder of how close they had come to losing him.

_A reminder of just how bad Keith was for him._

“Do you want to go see Takashi?” Keith falters at the question and looks away from Matt’s prying eyes. How was he meant to explain why he wasn’t allowing himself to see Takashi because he had feelings for the Prince? Or that him not seeing the Prince was because of the injury he had caused him? And that was before he even brought up the gauntlet he had been working on so that Takashi could move his hand once again. With as skilled as Matt was in healing magic he had to know that Takashi had suffered significant damage to his arm and he had to know that there was no healing magic strong enough to fix it. Even if that healer was blessed by the Goddess.

“Is he up to having visitors?” The raven-haired male asks after a few minutes of silence. He still hadn’t figured out whether he wanted to go and see the Prince, but he still needed to know whether Takashi could have visitors.

“Of course, he is, he’s just been advised to take it easy. So, you know he’s writing to Princess Allura of Altea to continue planning their union instead of doing what I told him.” Matt says with a sigh as he stands up. “He wants to see you Keith. The other knights and myself are good company but… I don’t think it’s the same for him.” Keith looks down at that. He knew that Takashi enjoyed his company, but he didn’t realise it was that obvious to everyone else.

“I’ll come down later tonight to talk to him…” He says softly after looking out the large window of his room. It was around dusk and the knight still wanting to get a few hours of work done on the gauntlet before he saw Takashi. “But… by myself if that’s okay?”

“Of course, it is Keith. I’ll come tell you when I leave his room.” Matt ruffles his long hair before leaving the knight to his own devices. The heavy door settles into place and Keith stands up to go to his desk, focused on making sure that the gauntlet worked.


	4. Long Live

True to his word, Matt came by later that night and told Keith when no one would be in Takashi’s room. Keith was glad that Matt had done so because he was now fairly certain that the gauntlet would work, he just needed to test it out on the Prince now. Grabbing the cloth that he had wrapped the gauntlet in, he got up from his desk and made his way out of his room and down the hall.

The castle was quiet at night. It always had been but it was the first time in over a week that Keith had left his room and he was acutely aware of just how loud his footsteps were in the empty halls of the castle. He clutched the bundle of cloth closer to himself as he walked past Lance’s room and saw that it was open slightly. He could hear the soft laughter of Hunk and knew that it was no doubt at one of Lance’s terrible jokes. He hurried past the door, deciding that the quicker he got to the Prince’s room the better. He didn’t want to have to deal with Hunk and Lance being nosey about the gauntlet. He wasn’t ready to answer their questions. He didn’t want to answer their questions.

He knew that Katie was more than likely still awake from previous experiences. And when he heard her and Matt talking as he walked past her door, he wasn’t surprised, he was just relieved. Having her brother in her room meant that she wouldn’t bug Keith either, which was exactly what the raven-haired male wanted. Sighing to himself he reached the Prince’s room and walked in after giving a sharp knock. He didn’t wait for Takashi to answer, knowing that Matt would have told him he was on his way.

After hearing from Matt that the Prince had continued to write to Princess Allura despite being told to rest, Keith wasn’t surprised to see him doing exactly that. Takashi was sat in bed amongst his plethora of pillows, his attention focused on the small writing rest that was across his lap. The younger male could only see his left arm from the doorway but from the way the Prince was sat he could tell that Takashi’s right arm would be resting on the bed.

“You’re burning the midnight oil.” Keith said softly as he starts to walk to the right side of the bed. He wanted to sit in the chair next to the bed while they talked after all. He hears the movement of the pen stop as he talks and he smiled a little.

“Keith…” Takashi’s voice is soft, longing and Keith honestly had no idea what to do with that information. He knew that Takashi and Allura’s union would unite the Shiranyth and Altean Kingdoms and it would help to form an alliance against the Galran Empire. But he couldn’t help but feel jealous of the Princess that he had yet to meet. Feelings that he was still trying to repress. It wasn’t proper for him to be lusting after a man that he knew he couldn’t have.

“You still writing to Princess Allura?” He asked as he settled in the plush chair, the bundle of cloth resting neatly on his lap. He wasn’t too concerned about the letter writing. After all, the Prince was left-handed, as long as he wasn’t trying to write with his burnt hand Keith really did not mind.

“Yes, the Princess will be visiting next week for us to sign the union papers. I’m fairly excited to meet her.” And there was Keith’s other issue with the union. Yes, it was going to be great for the Kingdoms, but neither Takashi or Allura knew one another. For all anyone knew they could hate each other when they met each other and be stuck in a marriage they hated. That wasn’t something he wanted to see happen to the Prince, he cared too much for the elder man to see that happen.

“That… sounds nice.” The smaller male didn’t really know how to respond. He didn’t want to outright disapprove of Takashi’s decision to marry the Princess, because then he would have to explain why he felt that way. And he really didn’t feel like explaining to the Prince that it was because he had a crush on him. It wouldn’t change anything if he did admit it, he just would feel awkward admitting it when Keith could see how happy this union was making the man he loved. So, he bit his tongue and played with the corner of the cloth.

“Of course, you’ll be invited, I think it would do you good to meet the Princess.” He could only imagine what Takashi meant by that but he didn’t want to dwell on it. He just wanted to pretend that it wasn’t happening, that way he could hopefully stop being jealous over Princess Allura. “What’s that on your lap?” He looks up at the question and drops his hand from the cloth.

“Oh… I made something for you as an apology for burning your arm.” Keith whispers as he shifts under Takashi’s cold gaze. He knew what that look meant. It was the look that screamed that Keith hadn’t had to do that, but it was too late – Keith had already done it.

“I told you that it wasn’t your fault.”

“I know that.” Keith can see that look again. Takashi was giving him a look that told him that he hadn’t explained himself very well. But for the smaller male it was important the he got the Prince to understand that wasn’t why he had decided to make the gauntlet. “You still can’t move your hand, can you?” The elder man’s face falls at that question and Keith feels his heart break a little. He never wanted to make him look that sad again, but his question had needed to be asked. After all, if Takashi had managed to move his hand again then there would be no need for the gauntlet.

“Matt said that the damage might be too bad for me to ever move it again.” Even if Keith had known that that was more than likely the case it didn’t change the fact he still felt incredibly guilty about it. Seeing how saddened the Prince looks to be relaying that news, the knight is certain that he feels bad having to tell Keith that knowing that his knight probably still felt guilty.

“That’s why I did it.” He offers as an explanation before unravelling the cloth from around the gauntlet. It was an intricate piece of metal that he had moulded into the right shape and size by using Takashi’s normal armour as a reference. He had added some jewels and intricate details to make it more befitting for a Prince as well.

“I don’t understand.” The elder male says as he stares at the intricately made gauntlet on Keith’s lap.

“It’s a gauntlet. It should react with your quintessence to effectively replace your hand.”

“What do you mean replace my hand?”

“It’s a glove, and should make your hand work again due to the enchantments I put on it.” Keith stands up and moves to sit on the bed so that putting it on would be a lot easier. He’s carefully not to knock the bandaged arm as he rests the gauntlet next to him. He can see Takashi admiring it and it embarrasses him a little as he works on unbandaging his burned hand.

“You made this?” He can hear the astonishment in Takashi’s voice and he looks away briefly as the Prince continues to admire the gauntlet. He had always kept his metalworking a secret as he used his flames to help bend the metal. “Keith, it’s so beautiful.”

“Let’s get it on you then.” Keith smiles a little and picks up the gauntlet carefully so that he can slip it onto the Prince’s arm. The fabric underneath the metal stretched a little which helped, but the knight still tried his hardest to avoid catching the burnt flesh as he pulled the material over his elbow. He took the time to adjust the fingers of the glove and gave the Prince a small smell when he had finished. “Try and move your fingers now then.” Keith says and the pair of them both take a deep breath.

Keith’s was because he had had no one to test the gauntlet on, so didn’t know if it would work. If it didn’t work he had effectively just made a sleeve to cover the burnt flesh from prying eyes, which while useful, wasn’t what he had intended to do. Takashi’s was because he honestly didn’t know if it would work or if he wanted to deal with the heartbreak he would feel if it didn’t work. He didn’t want to have an arm he couldn’t use. He wanted to be able to go into battle with his army should the Kingdom need him too, not be relegated to the side lines. The elder male’s heart nearly pounds out of his chest as he tries to flex his fingers, only to feel a surge of warmth run through the fabric as his fingers move a small bit.

“Keith! It works!” He can’t help but cry it out, his eyes wide and excited. His knight was staring at the wiggling fingers in awe and when he feels the Prince pull him into a hug – he doesn’t fight it. He can feel the Prince crying into his shoulder and he doesn’t comment on it, instead he just hugs him back and lets out a breath he didn’t realise he had been holding. His invention and spells had worked.

“I’m glad it does.” He finally whispers back as he pulls away from the tight embrace, a small flush on his cheeks. “And I can always make another one for your wedding if you want a different colour to match the Princess’ gown.” He says with a soft smile, trying to force himself to be happy about the Prince’s marriage.

“My… my wedding?” Takashi blinks out of sheer confusion as he repeats his knight’s words. He was unsure as to where the knight had heard that, or if Keith knew something he didn’t. He had been sleeping most of the week to recover after all.

“Yes, to Princess Allura?” The Prince laughs out loud at that. He couldn’t even try to contain his laughter. The Princess had made it very clear to him over the correspondences that she already had a fiancée in mind. She had given Takashi several pieces of dating advice since they had started to talk.

“Keith, I’m not marrying Allura, who told you that?”

“Everyone kept saying you were going to sign union papers, in the Galran Empire that means marriage.” And with that Takashi understands the raven-haired male’s mistake. Dialect between Kingdoms had been something that as a Prince, Takashi had grown up learning the differences between them. Keith hadn’t had that luxury.

“We’re signing an alliance together. Princess Allura is looking to marry Princess Nyma of the Tearyn Kingdom, a wedding which we will be invited to. She doesn’t want to marry me.” The elder male explains and Keith looks away as he feels his cheeks flush scarlet. He had entirely forgotten that in the Shiranyth Kingdom a union could mean more than one thing.

“I… I thought…”

“Keith it’s okay, don’t worry about it.” He gives the young knight a small smile before reaching up with his now gloved hand to ruffle his raven hair. There was a small on his face at the fact he could feel Keith’s hair through the gauntlet. “Besides, I will be taking you up on the offer for a different colour.” He adds as he lowers his hand back to his side. Keith falters a little at the statement but bites the inside of his cheek quickly to hide any disappointment on his face. Whoever Takashi was planning on marrying, he hoped she loved him as much as he loved her.

“Oh, what colour?” Keith asks, trying to make sure the saddened tone doesn’t seep into his voice too much. This was a happy occasion for the Prince, he should be happy for him. He just hadn’t thought that this day would come so quickly.

“I’m thinking a red or a black one. Whichever you would prefer to do Keith.”

“I could do a black one with rubies and garnets…” He says after a few minutes of running through the materials he had back in his bedroom. He would need to go pick up some more fabric but that wasn’t too hard to come by. “Who’s the lucky girl?” He asks as he shifts himself on the bed so that he can lean against the cushions with the Prince.

“You.”

 _“Me?”_ Keith doesn’t mean to sound so surprised but he doesn’t know how else to react to the news. He had dreamt of marrying the Shiranyth Prince for so long that to hear him say those words out loud felt unreal. It didn’t feel real. It felt like he was floating, or at least in a dream world. There was no way that it could be real.

“Keith, I want to marry you. I have done for a while now, but you never seemed interested in pursuing anyone, so I never asked.” Takashi takes the knight’s small hand in his won as he talks, his grey eyes never leaving Keith’s flushed face. “I had resigned myself to reigning over the Kingdom alone because no one had ever made me feel as loved as you do. My parents invited various Princes and Princess’ in to try and win my hand in marriage, and none of them appealed to me. But then… you arrived here and it was like Aella had personally sent you to me.”

“Takashi…” Keith goes to protest feeling embarrassed by the Prince’s declaration but is quickly cut off by a gloved finger pressed against his lips.

“Seeing how you trained and fought for the right to become one of my personal knights impressed me, and then seeing how you came to my rescue after Emperor Lotor kidnapped me only solidified my feelings for you. You’re a fighter, but you have this sweet tender side to you that only I get to see. I love it.” He says softly as he brushes the smaller male’s hair gently away from his eyes. “I love you. I love everything about you Keith. So, Sir Keith Zhujin, will you marry me?” Keith bit his lip as he thought about what the man he had loved for so long was telling him. He was telling him that he loved him, that he wanted to marry him. It was everything he had ever wanted and yet he still couldn’t process that it was really happening. Taking a deep breath, the smaller knight moved forward and knelt up, violet eyes meeting soft grey ones. He had to be certain that Takashi meant it before he answered him.

“And this isn’t because Matt’s given you a lot of painkillers and you’re delirious?” He asks as he gently moves the Prince’s fringe out of the way. He truly was beautiful, even with the scar across his nose.

“No, it’s because I love you and I honestly don’t want to rule over the Shiranyth Kingdom with anyone but you by my side.”

“Then: _yes_.”


End file.
